[Billfred]

I loved how FIRST reacted this year to folks, especially when they had well-thought issues. Like the loading zones for human players--folks were having real issues doing the job safely, so FIRST decided not to be a slave to style and made that 36" triangle a 48" box. And we had far fewer penalties for it.

After the first week of regionals, IIRC, the refs were saying that trying to remember non-counting tetras (because of loading zones) was a pain in the butt. So that part was deleted, and the game didn't fly to pieces.

Then there was the rash of capping incidents--drivers, not goals. Refs sorted it out at the regionals, FIRST handled it for the Championship with those oh-so-fine guards. (Although I guess the bars themselves should've been secured a bit better--there was that one match on Curie where the bars came crashing down.)

Finally, that last group of team updates, where FIRST explained the rationale behind each revision. To whoever writes the team updates, THANK YOU!

And I, too, loved the new robot stuff. The kit gearboxes saved the world from another window motor drivetrain, the IFI breaker panel was nice and easy to mount (anyone else note that it had the same hole pattern as the RC?), and the four CIM motors is heavenly--and hopefully enough to inspire teams to take the plunge and try an omni or swerve setup.